Sorry for the wait!
Thank you for all the kind reviews... Gryphon117, Krieg118, renton 2985, Zeromaru Chaos Mode, Demon Lord Cashmere Snow, SPH, magicdownunder and Toby Narukami. All of your guys' support is the reason I keep working on this story. Thanks again!
"So, how does Shinji feel, now that he's cast aside the title of 'local recluse'?"
"Huh?" Shinji lifted his head, bringing his vision away from his twiddling thumbs. Asuka was standing to his right, leaning on the same railing as him. She was holding her phone in front of her carefully, wearing a sly smile.
"I said… how does it feel, Shinji, to be an ex-hikikomori?" Asuka repeated herself more forcefully, yet still maintaining her pristinely unendearing smile.
"A-are you.. filming me?" Shinji asked, scowling.
Asuka nodded. Before pointing a decisive finger at him, making sure to get her gesture in the shot. "Answer the question, young man!"
Shinji let loose an exasperated groan. "Why are you filming me, Asuka?"
The redheads devious smile dropped into a pout. Shinji felt his heartstrings pull.
"I don't know… for posterity? Memories?" Asuka wondered aloud. "Maybe I just knew it'd make you uncomfortable…" The girl laughed, slightly. Shinji didn't return the favour, and looked back down at his idle hands.
"Asuka… things haven't changed. What do you mean, ex-hikikomori?"
Asuka looked annoyed at the insistence. "Look around you, Lame Shinji."
Shinji reluctantly took the girls advice, prying his eyes yet again away from his personal bubble. Looking out in front him past the railing the pair leaned on, Shinji got an eyeful of the admittedly beautiful ocean view. Their day of travel had neared a close, and the setting sun was painting it's aquatic canvas in breathtaking fashion. Far out on at the edge of a nearby dock, Rei was sitting and kicking her legs playfully(?) in the ocean. The way her silhouette was enraptured by the skyline was picturesque.
Having actually taken in the 'scene', Shinji felt a little guilty for being self absorbed. That still didn't make him any less annoyed at Asuka's prying, though.
"It's beautiful… what's your point?" Shinji added, mumbling slightly.
"Doesn't look much like your apartment, does it?" Asuka replied, sarcastically. "Last time I checked, hikikomoris didn't leave their homes. Not this far, anyway."
"I did this for Rei… I had to. This isn't some kind of big step for me." Shinji answered, shaking his head. "It just… happened. I just got swept along like usual."
Asuka sighed herself, almost as if to get caught in Shinji's negative pull. "This interview is already turning into a pity fest."
"Are you surprised? Y-you're talking to me." Shinji rolled his eyes, pushing himself up and away from the railing. The boy stepped away from his friend in some not-too-subtle body language. Asuka was having none of it, though, and followed after him with angry steps.
"Goddamnit Shinji, you're on a vacation with a bunch of hot girls; how could you possibly be depressed?!" The girl brought the camera closer to Shinji's face, focusing on him dramatically.
Cue a snort and a laugh from behind them.
"You know, Shinji, she's not wrong." Misato laughed, turning her head back to look at him. "Most guys I know would be damn happy with a trip like this…"
The woman had her hands full changing a tire; the reason for their current pitstop. Her car had chosen a luckily scenic place to get a flat. Luckily, their driver had been prepared, albeit slow to change into a replacement.
Shinji was feeling a bit uneasy with the intentive stares of both the girls on him; he could only be thankful Rei wasn't around to join in on the fun, even ignoring the extra connotation her staring came with.
"You say 'vacation', you say 'trip'." Shinji recounted, pointing at each of them in turn. "I say, 'important promise to keep Rei safe… and back to her… teacher'. We should be a bit more serious… Kaji would've."
Misato's face turned to a scowl, eerily complementing Asuka's own reaction.
"You mean… that Rei?" Asuka asked, pointing out towards the sea. The aforementioned girl was still enjoying the water's caress, kicking her legs around. Shinji had to smile at the sight, as much as he hated it.
"Seems like you're the only one here being serious, lame-Shinji." Asuka prodded him verbally, still filming away. "Or should I say, ex-hikikomori Shinji. Your thoughts?"
Shinji closed his eyes in frustration, shaking his head. "It's more complicated than that, Asuka."
"It's really not, you dumbass." Asuka retorted, rolling her eyes.
"H-how would you know?!" Shinji hissed.
"You told me!"
"He told you?"
Shinji and Asuka looked over at Misato, who was looking at the latter with a surprised look. "This guy shut himself away years ago without a word… never explained a thing to me."
Shinji looked away guiltily, assuming that Misato had zeroed in on him. He knew the woman had tried to get him to talk, but still to this day he had avoided the topic.
Asuka laughed, seeming to genuinely enjoy the moment she was capturing. "Well, of course he never told you anything. The whole fuckin' reason the guy went AWOL was you rejected him..."
"Asuka!" Shinji interjected, frantically, albeit quite too late.
"What?! It's true!" Asuka defended herself adamantly.
"T-that…" Shinji tried to begin, before shutting up at the sight of Misato's knowing eyes. "That was just one part…I-I don't even want to talk about this!"
"Dude, she totally knows, anyway…" Asuka sighed, turning away from them and filming the scenic view for a moment.
Shinji looked over nervously at Misato, who merely chuckled. Shinji's chest tightened horribly at the aloof response.
"I mean… you did stop talking to me right after we did it. I had some idea."
Shinji coughed awkwardly.
"Right after you did what?" Asuka turned back in alarming speed, poking her phone outwards in eager listening. Misato's eyes widened slightly at the girl's sudden, pinpointed interest. Her face flushed slightly, before turning quickly back to the flat tire.
"D-did? What? After… he confessed to me." Misato replied, loosening a lug nut.
Asuka rose a brow in confusion, before turning to Shinji. The boys face was even more flushed than Misato's, eyes looking away suspiciously.
"Wait… did you guys bang?" Asuka looked between the two in disbelief. "You guys' totally banged!"
Silence. Minus the methodical squeaking of the tire's lug nuts.
"Shinji, you sly dog! You lied to me!" Asuka accused her friend, turning to him angrily. "You said you guys didn't fuck!"
Shinji was horrified, to say the least. "Can we please stop filming this?!"
"This is now evidence! An official record!" Asuka proclaimed, putting on overtly official voice. The girl began planning her camera rapidly between her two subjects. "Let it be known, ON RECORD, that these two… did the dirty!"
Shinji facepalmed at the theatrics, turning away from the electronic scrutiny in disgust. He had nothing to say. Nothing he could think of, at least; besides frantic and ultimately useless denial. Asuka got information when she wanted, it seems.
"...can the record also show that we were pretty wasted?" Misato began laughing again, obviously taking this more in stride than others. "An all-too-common occurrence, at the time."
Asuka meanwhile joined in the laughter. "No shit, huh?" The girl walked over closer to Shinji, before leaning in and speaking with a hushed, playful tone:
"Strange... that didn't seem to work for me..." The girl smirked, pointing the camera in his face. The act made Shinji extremely uncomfortable, and not just because of the close-up. Asuka had never even alluded, let alone spoken to him about that drunken misstep of theirs. Shinji had assumed she was more than happy to put that embarrassing night behind the two of them for good. Now, though, she was almost dangling the memory in front him playfully.
Something about her seems… off.
Shinji covered the lens of the phone, carefully. Looking into her eyes, Shinji offered her a genuinely pleading look. "Can you please turn that off? Stop talking about this?"
Despite his effort, she just offered him a slow shake of the head: "You never gave me my answer."
Shinji gritted his teeth. "You… want an answer."
"Yeah."
"...fine."
Pausing for a moment, Shinji removed his hand from the lens, before looking into it with as much resolution as possible.
"Let me clear up some confusion, then, for you two. I am a hikikomori. The consecutive failures… failed life goals, failed relationships, being a failure in the eyes of my father. The collective anxiety of all those consecutive failures… that's why I stay in my room. Why I will continue to stay in said room as soon as we get back from this trip. Happy?"
"Uh…" Asuka attempted to reply.
"You should be… it's the truth." Shinji added bitterly, turning to the ocean view to seek its comfort. "Whether I like it or not. Getting roped into all this Kaji and Rei business doesn't suddenly change who I am deep down. It doesn't fix my flaws, my problems. To think that way is just… naive and childish."
"C-childish? Naive? You…" Asuka went to reply, clearly agitated, before Misato extended an open hand back behind her, tapping Asuka on the leg.
"Asuka, just leave Shinji alone and give me a hand, would ya? I think you've made things sufficiently awkward, okay?"
"Me? How is this my fault? I'm not the one with a stick up my ass. Fucking prick." Asuka replied, sending a sharp glare at Shinji. but complied anyway, kneeling to help Misato out with changing the tire.
Misato chuckled, shaking her head. "Are you kidding me? All the questions, the filming? It's like kicking a hornets nest… if the hornets were all extremely anxious and depressed."
Shinji laughed, reflexively. Asuka turned back, unimpressed: "Oh, so you like it when she grills you…"
Shinji took in Asuka's sour face, before cracking a smile. "That's cause I like Misato more than you."
Another laugh from Misato, drawing in Asuka's wrath: "HEY! You want help with this shit or not? I'll walk away!"
Shinji let another laugh loose, before he noticed Rei walking up from the dock. The girl approached them slowly, wearing her usual stoic face. Walking up the steps to the road, Rei seemed to notice something as she caught sight of Shinji's face.
"Shinji… you feel better?" Rei asked simply, tilting her head.
Shinji shrunk at the question; at the girl's staring, and mostly what it meant. Walking closer to the girl, and lowering his voice, Shinji continued with a confused face."N-no, why? What do you even mean, better?"
Rei seemed to delve deeper before resuming: "Your mind… it's not racing anymore. It's like a pressure has been relieved. Your soul has been frantic, worried, since we left."
Shinji took a step back from the girl, looking away worriedly. It had been something of a recurring issue since the girl had changed her look. Shinji found the 'normalized' version of Rei to be even creepier than before, yet he couldn't place the reason.
"M-my… soul, huh? That's cryptic."
"It is difficult to explain." Rei replied, shrugging. "Just like your avoidance of me, as of late."
Shinji raised a brow at the girl, taken aback by the turn in the conversation.
"I told you to stop trying to read me, you know…" Shinji reminded her, carefully.
"There are some things I notice... even without the sense." Rei explained, sounding a bit conflicted. "I do not feel as if I have angered you… In fact I know I have not. Why… do you dislike being around me?"
Shinji shook his head heavily. "Of course I don't, Rei… I… just give me some chance to adjust."
"Adjust? To what?"
"Rei… you just… I don't know… y-you remind me of someone. Ever since you changed your look, I feel like I'm talking to... someone else... it's weird."
Rei tilted her head again, though now in confusion. "...that is strange."
A silence formed between two, a silence that was painfully obvious amidst the heated bickering going on nearby between Misato and Asuka. The two headstrong women didn't always see eye-to-eye, especially not when changing a tire, apparently.
"...thank you for taking me to Kagawa, Shinji."
Shinji looked confused at Rei, who was back to staring at him.
"Thank me? You should thank Misato… she's done all the preparation." Shinji insisted, gesturing back at their currently incapacitated vehicle.
"Misato did not take care of me, and feed me. Accept me for who I am. What I am." Rei explained further, looking out at the ocean. "Thank you, Shinji."
"W-W...what's gotten into you?" Shinji chuckled a bit, before looking back at Asuka."Hell, what's gotten into everybody…"
"I'm unsure, myself. Perhaps it is that phenomenon… what did Misato refer to it as? A 'Road Trip'?" Rei wondered aloud, still staring out onto the water. "Misato said it would be 'fun', and I find myself now in complete agreement. However, I feel my concept of 'fun' might differ from hers."
"What do you mean?"
"When we were travelling in the car… it was quite silent at times, was it not?" Rei clarified, looking back at Shinji curiously.
"Well, save for Asuka's music, sure." Shinji smiled, remembering the trip itself. "I don't know, sometimes there's not much to talk about."
Rei's eyes widened, looking almost excited. "And yet, when I look around… everyone's minds are quite active. Concepts… complex thoughts are forming… reaching a precipice before falling off entirely. It's quite fascinating."
"Um… I don't quite follow, Rei." Shinji responded honestly.
"No one was talking, but everyone had something to say. Much to say." Rei said, closing her eyes dramatically.
Shinji sighed heavily. "Again, Rei… not to burst your bubble... But didn't we have a talk about reading people?"
"I was… bored."
Shinji shook his head, but smiled. "Still."
"Shinji... would you accept some advice?" Rei asked, sounding hesitant.
"Erm… that depends…" Shinji hesitated himself.
"From what I…. understand… you will likely not see any of us after this trip concludes. That is, if your insistence on being a hermit continues."
Shinji blushed slightly at the word choice. "It sure seems that way. W-what's your point?"
"Everyone here has much to say to you. You have much to say to everyone here. With the current circumstances, it would be prudent to say these things to one another, before it is too late." Rei explained, locking eyes with Shinji.
"Rei… why are you…"
...
"Hey Bumbletard, Blue! We're ready to go! Get yer asses in the car! It's gonna be night soon, and I'm not sleeping in the car!" Asuka began shouting at them, cutting Shinji off.
Shinji felt as if his forming response had been stuffed roughly into his throat, leaving him reeling. Putting his thoughts on pause, he turned back to the verbal intruder:
"Whatever, Asuka… how can you even call her 'Blue' anymore…" He asked, walking back towards her. "You were the one who wanted her to change all that."
"Cause it suits her, Bumbletard!" Asuka called back, laughing.
Shinji groaned, before turning back to Rei. "Hey, Rei, are you coming… R-Rei?"
Rei... was smiling.
~A Few Hours Later~
"Ohhhh. So you're the guy watches all that weird cartoon porn?!"
Silence filled the air as the words left Asuka's mouth. There were some chirping crickets however, brought on by the encroaching night. Shinji was having difficulty deciding if there had ever been a more apt moment for them to be singing.
Awkward…
"I-I…. b… what?" Kensuke asked, dumbfounded, and beet red at that. "P-porn? Cartoon?"
"Yeah!" Asuka assured him confidently. "Shinji, you just said he was your old neighbor, right? Like, the one who left?"
"I… sure did." Shinji sighed, facepalming. "Why? Asuka… why?"
"Cause! You blamed that big box of weird anime shit on him!" Asuka insisted, poinitng at Kensuke rudely, who suddenly and clearly had a good idea what was transpiring.
"T-that.. That was just anime! Normal, good anime!"Kensuke argued, putting a hand on his hip. "Who… who even are these people, Shinji?"
"There was porn! Cartoon porn!" Asuka insisted, further. "I know you tried hiding it, putting it at the bottom of the box and stuff, but I found it!"
"I… did try hiding it, Kensuke." Shinji admitted, blushing himself. "I-I didn't expect her to dig to the bottom, really."
"L-look… enough about the goddamn porn… are you gonna answer my question, man?" Kensuke pleaded, adjusting his glasses.
"S-sorry, Kensuke… these are the friends I was talking about in the phonecall. The ones you said you'd… accommodate?"
"These three are the friends?" Kensuke looked skeptical, to say the least. "...you brought three female friends? Good-looking ones? Something isn't right here… is this a joke?" Kensuke smiled, though uncomfortably at that.
"Y-you'd be right, ninety percent of the time… but these are actually my friends." Shinji laughed, slightly. "We just needed a place to crash. I knew you lived nearby so… I-I hope this is okay."
"Well, I-I mean…" Kensuke began, clearing his throat. "I already agreed, so… I don't want to be rude…. Uh…"
Kensuke cleared his throat again. Soon enough it became clear he was looking at Misato, who perked up, awkwardly: "O-oh! Uh… I'm Misato, and this is Rei… the redhead over there is-"
"M-Misato, huh? Rei? ….well, I know things have been a bit… weird. But you're all welcome to use the baths… I know traveling can be exhausting." Kensuke explained, smiling sheepishly at her.
"Wait, this is a bathhouse?" Misato asked, dumbfounded, as Kensuke merely nodded. "Free baths~! Shinji, why didn't you say anything?! This is amazing!"
Shinji merely shrugged tiredly.
"You can say that again…" Asuka added, dreamily. "This is gonna feel goooood~"
"Y-yeah! The, uh… signs off…" Kensuke shrugged himself, pointing at nearby neon sign meant to advertise the baths, currently shut off and uninviting. "Uh… You know… t-this is actually my business, now… I inherited it fr-"
"C'mon Asuka! Rei! Let's go get our bath on! Shinji can wait." Misato interrupted Kensuke excitedly, hurrying towards the entrance. The two other girls followed in suite, one considerably more excited than the other. Soon enough they opened and disappeared beyond the front entrance.
Kensuke, meanwhile, was left in their wake… clearly a bit conflicted
"Shit, wait… I'm gonna have to go chop wood, aren't I?" Kensuke bemoaned, as the girls left his view. "What a pain… I wasn't gonna offer the baths, but once I saw their damn faces... I'm weak with girls, man."
"You're not the only one." Shinji agreed, laughing slightly. "You guys still use a wood furnace? How old is this place?"
"Well, it's the 'family business'… So, I do things the way my dad did things… and he did it the way his dad-" Kensuke explained.
"I-I get it… Kensuke." Shinji cut him off, smiling slightly. "...thank you for having us, though. Really."
"Yeah, yeah…" Kensuke shook his head. "This is still gonna be a pain…"
Suddenly, the front door opened again, and Misato poked her head outside. "I just realized I never properly thanked you, Kensuke… Sorry~!" Misato bowed sheepishly. "You really have no idea how much this bath means to me! I feel so gross with the heat!"
"U-uh… yeah… n-no problem, Misato." Kensuke replied, smiling sheepishly.
And just as quick as she appeared, Misato slipped back inside. Unsurprisingly to Shinji, a newfound energy seemed to enter Kensuke. Marching away to work, Kensuke sighed happily before turning back to Shinji.
"That girl is something else~!" Kensuke almost sang, before turning back. "I'll see you inside, Shinji."
As Kensuke turned the corner, Shinji nodded to himself. "Yeah, she is."
"They all are."
As Kensuke slammed the bottle onto the table, Shinji was caught off guard at how much noise the sake made when it collided with the kitchen table. The two had retreated there for a 'talk', once the girls entered the baths proper.
"Are… do we really need to drink?" Shinji asked reluctantly. "I-I've been trying to stay off the stuff."
Trying. Failing.
"Of course you do! Are you kidding me? You need to explain to me how you've managed to go traveling with a bunch of hot chicks! What in the hell was happened since I left that apartment block… I hear nothing from you for a while… now this? Lucky bastard.."
"S-sorry…" Shinji apologized, solemnly. "Things got a bit weird... I guess. And those girls being here, well, it's a... long story."
"I'm sure it is, but we have a lot of booze right here, so recount away." Kensuke insisted, taking a swig from the bottle, before pushing it over to his old friend.
Shinji hesitated, before grabbing the bottle. He owed him this much, at least, he figured. Taking a swig, Shinji coughed slightly from the strength.
"You too… things are different… you're all muscly, now. You run a business, too. Like an... adult." Shinji laughed to himself slightly. "I'm jealous."
Kensuke sighed, rubbing his arms. "Yeah, well, chopping wood every morning will do that to a guy… and as far as the business goes… it's been far from paradise. This place is real old and has a lot of upkeep… and you know all about me having to give up… anime… my mom was real harsh with me, man…
…
give me that bottle, Shinji. You're sitting on it."
Shinji smiled, though nervously, and complied. It had been a while since the two of them had done something like this. Whenever it did happen, you could bet there was usually something going either horribly wrong or horribly right in their lives… and it usually involved a girl. This time was obviously no different though considerable time had passed. There was a lot he had to say to Kensuke, but he wasn't really sure how to go about it.
"So, erm... Misato… she's that girl. You know what I mean?" Shinji blurted out quietly, stumbling awkwardly into his desired subject. Kensuke was in the middle of a swig, and looked at him bug-eyed before placing the bottle down roughly yet again.
"Wait…. Really? That's the girl?!" Kensuke proclaimed, voice nostalgic. "The one you crushed on super hard?"
Shinji nodded, though making a gesture for him to quiet down. Kensuke did, but he couldn't hold back a large grin.
"Well, now that I've finally seen her… I can see why you went all googoo for her. ...She's gorgeous." Kensuke admitted, looking to almost be floating in his seat.
Nodding again, Shinji sighed. "She has that effect on men."
"That so? And what about me?" A voice called out, approaching them from behind Shinji. He jumped, looking around quickly to see Asuka approaching, wearing some baggy pajamas. Her hair was damp, clearly still drying from the bath.
"What about you?" Shinji asked, trying to mask his surprise with disdain. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to see what's happening here." Asuka replied, deadpan, grabbing Shinji's shoulder roughly. Leaning in,she peeked at the two guys.
"Oh my god, are you guys, like, totally having like a secret boy talk?" Asuka burst out, doing her best valley girl impression. "Like, oh em gee~!"
Shinji sighed heavily, grabbing the bottle from Kensuke. "If I say yes, will you leave us alone?"
"Not a chance."
"Didn't think so."
With the newfound presence of the fiery redhead, the two guys were understandably hesitant to continue their conversation. To make things worse, the two froze up further once Rei entered the room as well.
"Misato has fallen asleep." Rei announced, scanning the room boredly.
"A-already?" Shinji laughed to himself. "Well, I guess she was tired. Stressed. Both, probably."
"Hey, whatever, that works with me." Asuka added, smiling. "Blue~, you want to drink with these guys, or what?"
Rei looked over at the said boys, before her eyes landed on the large bottle of sake. "That is… alcohol?"
"H-hold on, guys…" Shinji interjected, frowning. "I-isn't this up to Kensuke? It's his sake…" Shinji sent a pleading look to his friend.
Please don't.
Adjusting his glasses nervously, Kensuke smiled slightly. "I… I don't mind. The more the merrier."
Goddamnit.
"Fuck yeah, Kensuke!" Asuka laughed, before plopping herself down at one of the unoccupied seats. "For what it's worth, I don't really care about the cartoon porn, y'know. I was just teasing you."
"C-can… can we just drop that… please?"
"Whatever you say, Ken."
She hasn't even started drinking yet… Shinji couldn't help but cover his face at the exchange. Already...
Rei walked over to the table and sat down herself. Soon enough it became clear, watching her eyes move rigidly, that she was waiting for the sake (currently changing hands from Kensuke to Asuka,) to come her way. Shinji was taken aback by the concept:
"Y-you drink, Rei?" Shinji asked carefully, as the bottle made it to his hands. It was his opportunity to pump the brakes on this operation.
Rei nodded. "Yes, though only once. Do you not remember?"
"Why would I…" Shinji began to answer, before getting stuck on a memory. The sight of seeing a half-naked, blue haired girl take a six pack of beer from his hands. It was hard to forget, really. "Wait... no, I remember that night. That was when we met, wasn't it?"
Rei nodded. "I found alcohol to be quite enjoyable, even if it was... accidental."
"...really?" Shinji asked, dumbfounded. He found the concept of Rei drinking, even now, to be wholly strange.
Another nod. "Yes, though Kaji forbade me from doing so, afterwards…"
Shinji remembered that, as well. Kaji kept to himself back then, at least at first, but even he popped over to investigate what happened after Shinji… well, he got Rei liquored up. Kaji had seemed actually quite bothered by the whole event at the time, which is saying something, considering it was Kaji. The man seemed to take anything in stride.
"Right… was there any particular reason..?" Shinji asked, confused. "Seems a bit extreme."
"Cause that guy is… he was a total stick in the mud. He never drank alone with me, either. As much as I pressured him to." Asuka shook her head, drumming her hands on the table. "Can you just pass that shit to Rei, Shinji? Before I lose my buzz."
"C-calm down…" Shinji relented, before looking over to study Rei. The girl was merely staring at him, as per usual. "Rei, why do you like drinking so much? I'm just curious."
Before Rei could even respond, Asuka reached over the table to forcibly take the bottle from Shinji's hands. She delivered it straight to Rei, who wasted no time in taking a sizeable sip. Letting loose a satisfied sigh upon finishing her drink, Rei turned to Shinji with a smile.
"Because, It feels… good."
The table fell silent for a moment, before Asuka slammed the table with her fist, laughing. "Damn right it does, Blue!"
Shinji too, wanted to join in on the clear celebration Asuka was having. A celebration that Rei was clearly becoming more loose around them. He did… but as Shinji took a good moment to study Rei's eerie smile, he couldn't help but feel uneasy.